In which the author has technology. . .and cats

So, we here at the Confusion Factory have been plotting.

Plotting books, that is, since we have four left to write on the current contract.

We are, of course, most closely plotting the next book in line, Book The Second, and in the spirit of that plotting, I devoted my morning to reading the 26,000-ish words removed from Dragon in Exile because they didn't belong there.  It's now Steve's turn to read those words, while I commence in to reading a large-ish chunk of Crystal Dragon.

In order to read in comfort, I of course repaired to the couch, where I very soon gathered Able Assistants.  I took my smartphone with me, and made some notes on it, via Evernote, which were conveniently awaiting me on the desktop when I came back to my office after lunch.

Yay! technology.

On the weather front, we seem to have survived the season's first nor'easter:  three days of wind and rain, and rain and wind, and, for a change, rain and wind.  The sky is appreciably brighter, by which I mean, it's a sort of semi-luminous slate-grey.  Possibly tomorrow we will see the fabled sun described in tales of yore.

And now, I'm headed back for the couch and the day's second bout of reading.

The glamor, yeah.  Non-stop.

Here, before I go.  Have some pictures of my assistants, hard at work:

Sprite, sending support from Her Royal Throne

Trooper climbed up and arranged himself in the most convenient place, after I refused to let him sleep on the pages

. . .later, he moved down by my feet

Books read in 2014

37.  Agatha Heterodyne and the Sleeping City, Phil and Kaja Foglio
36.  Good Omens, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
35.   Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, Richard P. Feynman (as told to Ralph Leighton)
34.   A Brother's Price, Wen Spencer (e)
33.   Spiral Path, Katharine Eliska Kimbriel (e)
32.   Earthly Delights, Kerry Greenwood (e)
31.   Night Broken, Patricia Briggs (e)
30.  Just My Type, Simon Garfield
29.  Bones of Faerie, Janni Lee Simner
28.  Dancer of the Sixth, Michelle Shirey Crean
27.  Tryst, Elswyth Thane (re-re-re-re-re-&c-read)
26.  The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern
25.  The King of Attolia, Megan Whalen Turner
24.  The Queen of Attolia, Megan Whalen Turner
23.  The Thief, Megan Whalen Turner
22.  Cuckoo's Egg, C.J. Cherryh (re-re-re-&c-read)
21.  The Windflower, Laura London (Tom and Sharon Curtis) (re-read)
20.  Sparrow Hill Road, Seanan McGuire (e)
19.  Demon's Lexicon, Sarah Rees Brennan
18.  Refining Felicity, Marion Chesney
17.  Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury (re-read aloud w/Steve)
16. The Vanished Priestess, Meredith Blevins
15.  Nine Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny (re-read aloud w/Steve)
14.  Code Name Verity, Elizabeth Wein
13.  Ghost Point, James A. Hetley, manuscript (read aloud w/Steve)
12.  Peacemaker, C.J. Cherryh (read aloud w/Steve)
11.  The Red Hot Empress, Meredith Blevins
10.  Hogfather, Terry Pratchett
9.  Black Widow: The Name of the Rose, Marjorie Liu, Daniel Acuna
8.  Agent of Change, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (e)
7.  The Emperor's Agent, Jo Graham (e)
6.  Eternity and a Day, Aline Hunter (e)
5.  Kindred Rites, Katharine Eliska Kimbriel (e)
4.  Billy the Kid, the Endless Ride, Michael Wallis
3.  The Steerswoman, Rosemary Kirstein (e)
2.  Uncovered, Jordan Matter
1.  Dancers Among Us, Jordan Matter